1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a color calibration method and an image processing device using the same.
2. Background of the Invention
Generally, when a scanner captures an image of an object, the actual luminance of the object may not be the same as the luminance of the object in the captured image. There may be nonlinear distortion between the actual luminance of the object and the luminance of the object in the captured image, and the distortion may be expressed by formula (1) below.Y∝Xγ  (1)
Here, X denotes the actual luminance of the object, Y denotes the luminance of the object in the image, and γ is a parameter. Due to the nonlinear distortion that occurs at the time of capturing the image, the scanner may perform gamma correction on luminance or chrominance of an image after capturing the image, so as to remove the nonlinear distortion. The gamma correction refers to nonlinear compensation of an error in the image, such that the luminance of the object may have a linear relationship with the luminance of the corrected image. Gamma correction may be expressed by formula (2) below.Y′∝Y1/γ  (2)
Here, Y′ denotes the luminance after gamma correction, and γ is a parameter that is applied during gamma correction. After a calculation is made according to the formula (2), Y′ may have a linear relationship with X.
To accomplish the gamma correction, an analog method or a digital method is often applied. In the analog method, a nonlinear electronic circuit is employed to generate a result that is similar to the calculation result of the formula (2).
In the digital method, an exponential calculation is directly made according to the formula (2). However, the exponential calculation may not be instantaneously performed on certain devices, and therefore pre-calculated input and output results may be stored in a lookup table. When the gamma correction is to be performed, the adjusted luminance may be obtained by looking up the lookup table.
It is rather efficient to merely apply one γ to different scanners, whereas the numerical value of one γ may not be applicable to all of the scanners. If γ corresponding to each scanner is manually generated, a significant amount of time will be required. Therefore, how to automatically generate γ draws attention of researchers in the pertinent field.